Newsstand: January 2, 2013

Kind of weird to be typing a new date for the year on that Newsstand title. Let's see how many times the copy editors have to fix that for me before it sticks. In the news: Toronto has a very hip New Year's baby; more job actions could be coming from Ontario teachers; Councillor Bailão's next court date is set; and the levee that almost didn't happen went just fine, thanks.

It’s a new year, and Toronto has its New Year’s Day baby for 2013. Wynn Christopher Laforet was born at St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto at exactly 12 a.m. on January 1. Baby Wynn adds his New-Year’s-baby status to his already impressive indie cred: his father, Casey Laforet, is the frontman for Toronto band Elliott Brood. Toronto’s first girl, Lilian Pearl McLeod, was born just a few minutes later at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga at 12:07 a.m. Welcome, babies!

The deadline for Ontario’s teachers and school boards to make their own contract deals passed—with no new agreements made—when 2012 ended. That means Ontario students could see more labour unrest from job actions in their schools in the new year, according to York Region Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario president David Clegg. Provincial education minister Laurel Broten is expected to make a statement about Bill 115, the legislation imposing the December 31 agreement deadline, on Thursday.

Councillor Ana Bailão (Ward 18, Davenport) has her next date in court on impaired driving charges on January 15; her lawyer said at a Monday-morning court appearance (which Bailão did not attend) that he was still waiting for full disclosure from the Crown. Bailão was charged with drunk driving after she was stopped by cops on October 15, after leaving the Ball for the Arts at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

And it almost didn’t happen, but the Mayor’s New year’s levee went off without a hitch yesterday. Rob Ford was joined by city councillors including Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East), and Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) to greet hundreds of Torontonians at City Hall. Ford was probably glad to start 2013 off on a high note, considering that on January 7, he goes to court to fight to remain mayor after a judge found him in violation of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.